Inflatable aquatic rescue board and method of rescue

ABSTRACT

An inflatable aquatic rescue board is provided having particular advantage in rescuing persons who have sustained injuries while swimming or diving, and who frequently must be held rigid to prevent further injuries while being removed from the water. Prior to inflation, the rescue board is quite flexible, permitting it to be rolled into a compact bundle for storage. Then, upon activation of a self-contained compressed gas supply, the rescue board quickly becomes stiff and buoyant to form an ideal aquatic stretcher. The board comprises a planar structure having two impervious parallel broad faces constrained to a maximum separation by internal members extending therebetween. Transverse reinforcements provide additional rigidity and two longitudinally extending flat springs facilitate unrolling of the rescue board under water during rescue. Strategically placed straps are provided for securing an injured person to the board and handles are placed for maximum ease of removal from water and transportation to competent medical treatment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to water rescue apparatus and more particularlyto an inflatable aquatic rescue board and methods of rescue.

2. History of the Prior Art

Many of the water connected injuries occurring each year involve damageto the neck or spine, whereby the injured person should if at allpossible be immediately immobilized to preclude aggravation of theinjuries during transportation to a hospital or other treatmentfacility. Sports activities such as diving and water skiing areparticularly likely to result in cervical or spinal injuries in whichfurther bending or twisting of the spine can cause permanent damage.Under typical present procedures the person sustaining such injuries isremoved from the water under manual restraint and then placed on astretcher for transportation to a treatment facility. This removalprocedure is very dangerous for a person who needs to be immobilized,because positive restraint from relative movement of the injuredperson's body is very difficult even for a skilled rescuer.

There is in addition the basic problem of rescue of an injured person inthe water. In deep water, a rescuing swimmer has insufficient mobilityto do little more than tow an injured person to help; and in a pool itis difficult to get an injured person over the side to the pool. A needexists for an easily manipulatable rescue board that can facilitatewater rescues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An inflatable aquatic rescue board is provided for rescuing injuredpersons from water. When uninflated, the board is compact and flexiblefor convenient storage and easy transportation to an injured person.After placement beneath an injured person, the board can be inflatedfrom a self-contained supply of pressurized gas, transforming it into arigid, floating stretcher.

Methods of rescue in accordance with the invention utilize the steps ofpartially extending an uninflated rescue board along the upper spine ofan injured person, manipulating the person into a desired position whilesupporting the spine, and then inflating the board and securing theperson to it.

In a specific example of a rescue board in accordance with theinvention, a gas impervious bag having two substantially parallel broadsurfaces forms the rescue board. The two broad surfaces are connected byinternal members such as nylon threads which maintain a fixed separationbetween the broad surfaces when inflated, without impeding gas flow.When inflated, the broad surfaces are quite rigid, but the rigidity.Iadd.of the uninflated bag .Iaddend.is suitably increased by spacedtransverse bars and longitudinally extending flat springs affixed orjoined to the broad surfaces as reinforcing members. When uninflated,the broad surfaces collapse together and the rescue board becomes quiteflexible, permitting it to be rolled into a lightweight, compactpackage. The two longitudinal flat springs aid further in unrolling therescue board during inflation after it is partially unrolled by hand andplaced beneath an injured person. This is done without removing theinjured person from the water. After inflation, the injured person israpidly and conveniently immobilized by self-contained straps havingeasily secured fasteners. Handles are conveniently attached to the headend as well as the sides of the rescue board facilitating removal fromthe water and transportation to medical treatment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the invention can be had from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inflatable aquatic rescue board inaccordance with the invention shown in an inflated condition with aperson strapped thereto;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the inflatable aquatic rescue board shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the inflatable aquatic rescue boardtaken along line 3--3 in the direction of the arrows as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the inflatable aquatic rescue board shown inFIG. 1 taken from the head end;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an inflatable aquatic rescue board inaccordance with the invention in a deflated and rolled up state; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of an inflatableaquatic rescue board as shown in FIG. 3 and further illustrating detailsof construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, an inflatable aquatic rescue board 10 in accordancewith the invention has a rectangular top broad surface 12 for receivinga human form. Referring also to FIGS. 2- 4, a rectangular bottom broadsurface 14 is aligned immediately below the top broad surface 12parallel thereto. The two broad surfaces 12, 14 are connected togetherby flexible internal members such as threads and preferably comprisefabric coated with impervious material such as neoprene rubber. Thus,with the broad surfaces 12, 14 sealed together along their peripheriesthey form a flat, air-tight bag with the two broad surfaces 12, 14collapsing together when the bag is in a deflated condition, but uponinflation separating to a uniform distance determined by the length ofthe internal members.

Although selection of size is not critical to practice of the invention,and dimensions need not be precisely controlled, dimensions ofapproximately 72 inches in the longitudinal direction by approximately24 inches in the transverse direction have been found preferable forgeneral use. The 72-inch length will support most humans without theirfeet extending excessively beyond the board 10 while maintaining areasonable size and weight. Similarly, the 24-inch width is sufficientto make capsizing difficult but does not prevent a single rescuer fromreaching across the board 10 to strap down an injured person.

An inflation device 16 such as a standard 5-1/2 ounce CO₂ bottle usedfor fire extinguishers is fastened by straps 18 to the top broad surface12 near the head end at one side thereof and is connected to inflate theboard 10, when activated. .Iadd.The preferred internal pressure of theinflated bag or board 10 is approximately 10 p.s.i. .Iaddend.The straps18 are permanently fastened to the top surface 12 at one end butremovably fastened, as by Velcro fasteners 20, at the other end topermit replacement of the inflation device 16. The chosen location ofthe inflation device 16 permits a rescuer to hold an injured person inplace with one hand while operating the inflation device 16 with theother. Manual operation of a lever 22 causes the injection of gas intothe interior of the board 10 to quickly inflate it.

Also located on the top broad surface 12, but to one side of the footend is a gas release valve 24 that can be opened to deflate the rescueboard 10 after use. As shown in FIG. 5, the rescue board 10 loses itsrigidity when deflated and can be rolled into a compact bundle forstorage.

Although the rescue board 10 is inherently rigid when inflated, acertain amount of reinforcement is desirable. To provide additionalstrength in the chest area, .Iadd.particularly before inflation and whenthe apparatus is being applied to the victim's back, .Iaddend.a pair oftransversely extending aluminum bars 26, 28 are positioned on centerlines approximately 7-1/2 inches and 24 inches respectively from thehead end of the rescue board 10. These bars 26, 28 are approximatethree-sevenths inch wide, three-sixteenths inch thick and extend acrosssubstantially the entire width of the rescue board 10. They arepermanently molded into the bottom broad surface 14.

Additional support is provided by three one-half inch by 0.002-0.003inch thick flat steel spring wires molded into the bottom broad surface14. One spring 30 extends transversely across substantially the entirewidth of the rescue board 10 on a center line 4-1/2 inches from the footend. Second and third springs 32, 34 respectively extend longitudinallyalong opposite edges of the rescue board. One end of each of the springs32, 34 terminates opposite the bar 28 and the other end terminates atthe spring 30. The springs 30, 32 and 34 normally maintain a flatposition. This provides additional rigidity and enables thelongitudinally extending springs 32, 34 to aid in the unrolling of theboard 10 upon inflation in the water during a rescue.

Four straps are provided to secure a rescued person to the board 10 andprevent his movement thereon. A head strap 35 is positioned about 6-1/2inches from the head end of the rescue board 10 to pass across theforehead of a rescued person. The head strap 35 is 1-31/32 inches wideand about 31 inches long. One end is permanently fastened at one side ofthe head positioned near the inflation device 16. The other end, whichpasses underneath a loop 36 is secured by a Velcro fastener comprised ofsections of hook 38 and plush 40 at the opposite side of the headposition. The loop 36 is molded to the top broad surface 12 and insuresthat the direction of stress on the Velcro coupling is always parallelto the plane of the coupling, the direction of maximum strength, andalso prevents rotation of the head during transportation of the injuredperson. A plush pad 42 near the center of the strap 35 on the undersidethereof cushions against the head of an injured person during rescue andsecures the strap 35 to a pad of Velcro hooks 44, located in the centerof the top broad surface 12 at the head end, when the rescue board isnot in use.

A chest strap 46 is positioned on a center line 24 inches from the headend of the board 10 and is somewhat wider than the other straps toprevent its digging into the chest of a person being rescued. One end ofthe 6-inch wide chest strap 46 is permanently fastened to one edge ofthe bottom broad surface 14 while the other end of the 46-inch longstrap 46 fastens to the opposite edge of the bottom broad surface 14 byVelcro plush 48 and hooks 50 (best seen in FIG. 2). Similarly, a 1-31/32inch by 42 inch hip strap 52 is positioned 39 inches from the head endwith a Velcro plush end 54 fastening to Velcro hooks 56 and a 1-31/32inch by 42 inch foot strap 58 is positioned 61 inches from the head endwith a Velcro plush end 60 fastened to Velcro hooks 61.

A pair of tapering loops 62 are molded to the bottom broad surface 14 atthe foot end near opposite edges thereof. The loops 62 receiveindividual lightweight elements 63 such as styrofoam to add extrabuoyancy and support to the foot end of the rescue board 10 to insurethat the feet and legs of the injured person do not slide sideways offof the board during inflation and while the person is being securelystrapped to the board.

A set of handles is conveniently arranged to assist rescuers in removingthe rigid board, to which the injured person is securely strapped, fromthe water and carrying it in stretcher fashion. A 2 inch wide by 9inches long transversely extending wrist strap 64 has its ends moldedinto the bottom broad surface 14 about 14-1/2 inches from the head end.This wrist strap 64 is provided for use by rescuers as the deflatedrescue board 10 is partially unrolled and put into position on aninjured person's back, the injured person then being turned over ontothe board 10 and the board inflated.

An end handle 66 extends from the head end of the rescue board 10 at thecenter thereof. It is constructed from a semi-circular length of rubbercovered rope having a radius of about 5 inches with a strap 68 extendinglongitudinally from either end of the handle. The two longitudinallyextending ends of the strap 68 are about 6-1/2 inches long and aremolded to the bottom board surface 14. The handle 66 is used toadvantage in positioning the rescue board 10 prior to inflation, intowing the inflated board, in removing it from the water, and insubsequently carrying it up steep embankments.

Four additional side handles 70, 72, 74 and 76 similar to the end handle66 are located in oppositely positioned pairs along the longitudinaledges of the rescue board 10 at center points 14-1/2 inches and 39inches from the head end. Portions of the handles 70, 72, 74 and 76which extend across the bottom of the rescue board 10 are molded intothe bottom broad surface 14. The four side handles 70, 72, 74 and 76 aremost advantageously used for removing the inflated rescue board from thewater and carrying it in a horizontal position.

The internal construction of the rescue board is best shown in FIG. 6where it can be seen that the top and bottom broad surfaces 12, 14 arelayers of fabric 82, 84 respectively constrained to be aligned in auniformly spaced apart relationship by internal members 86. The fabriclayers 82, 84 are made impervious to gases by coating them with anoutside layer of material such as neoprene rubber. That is, a firstneoprene layer 88 is bonded to the top side of the top fabric layer 82and a second neoprene layer 90 is bonded to the bottom side of thebottom fabric layer 84. A drop stitch material conforming to Type 12 ofMilitary Specification MIL-C-17415E Amendment 3 and sold under the tradename Infab is preferred in this example for meeting the constructionrequirements of the aquatic rescue board 10.

As previously noted in conjunction with FIG. 6, the rescue board 10 isstored in a collapsed, rolled-up condition. As a rescuer approaches aninjured swimmer with the rescue board 10, he partially unrolls therescue board 10 and passes his left arm through the end handle 66 at thehead end of the board in the direction of top to bottom and passes hiswrist through the wrist loop 64 on the bottom of the rescue board 10,grasping the remaining rolled portion in his left hand. The injuredparty will most likely be floating face down in the water and therescuer places the rescue board on his back with the rescuer's left armassuming the same line as the vertebrae column of the injured swimmer.Still supporting the cervical area, the rescuer uses his free hand tograsp the upper arm of the injured swimmer and turn him over onto hisback, exposing his face to air. While still supporting the spinal columnof the injured swimmer with the left arm, the rescuer .Iadd.releases therolled portion of the bag, so that the springs 32 and 34 unroll it, andwith the bag extended under the injured swimmer, .Iaddend.the rescuerthen activates the inflation device 16 with his right hand. The .[.forceof the expanding gases and the action of the longitudinal springelements automatically complete the unrolling of the.]. rescue board 10.[., which.]. then buoyantly supports the injured swimmer in an extendedposition. After the four straps 35, 46, 52, 58 are secured by theirVelcro fastenings, the injured swimmer can be removed from the water andtransported to available medical help.

Methods in accordance with the invention provide novel techniques forrescuing and removing injured persons from the water. The spine of theinjured person is first longitudinally supported along its length by thearm of the rescuer and the interposed, partially extended board. In thisposition, the injured party can readily be manipulated to the face-upfloating position without bending or twisting of the spine. When thisposition is achieved the aquatic rescue board is inflated, floating theinjured person on his back, but again without shifting the body. Whenthe injured person is then secured to the board, his body is effectivelyrigidified so that no .Iadd.damaging .Iaddend.spinal movement ensuesdespite lifting, tilting or turning of the board.

Boards in accordance with the invention provide advantageouscombinations of lightness in weight and initial compactness, togetherwith large inflated area and structural rigidity when inflated. Thus, arescuer can quickly reach an immobilized victim, but the victimthereafter can be towed or pulled over the side of a swimming pool, andcarried as on a stretcher without further danger

Although there has been described above a particular arrangement of aninflatable aquatic rescue board in accordance with the invention for thepurpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be used toadvantage, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limitedthereto. Accordingly, any and all modifications, variations andequivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the artshould be considered to be within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inflatable aquatic rescue board comprising:aninflatable bag of impervious material having two substantially parallelbroad faces in alignment with each other and constrained to be separatedby not more than a maximum distance, .[.by internal members.]. said bagbeing generally rectangular and having two longitudinally extendingsides and transverse head and foot ends respectively; said bag beingrolled up from the foot end to the head end in the deflated condition;manually actuable means disposed adjacent the head end and coupled toinflate the bag when activated; and arm receiving means disposedadjacent the head end for enabling a rescuer, while the bag isuninflated and partially rolled and while positioned at the unrolledend, to place the unrolled portion of said bag adjacent the back of aninjured person with the arm extending along the spine, the bag unrollingfully under the injured person .[.during inflation.]. .Iadd.and beinginflated.Iaddend..
 2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 above,including in addition longitudinal spring means disposed along at leastone of the broad faces thereof to provide a spring force tending toassist unrolling, and wherein the internal pressure of the inflated bagis approximately 10 psi.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 above,further including handle means for carrying the bag in a horizontalposition; detachable strap means disposed at spaced apart longitudinalregions for rigidly securing an injured person to one of the broadfaces; and means coupled to said manually actuable means for controllingthe rate of inflation of said bag.
 4. An inflatable aquatic rescue boardcomprising:an impervious top broad surface; an impervious bottom broadsurface having a shape substantially conforming to the top broadsurface, said bottom broad surface being disposed parallel to and inalignment wth the top broad surface; .[.internal.]. means .Iadd.forconstraining .Iaddend..[.disposed between.]. the top and bottom broadsurfaces .[.constraining them.]. to a maximum separation whilepermitting the interior flow of an inflating gas; said top and bottombroad surfaces being composed of flexible material permitting rolling ofsaid board into a compact package in the deflated condition; said boardhaving a head end and a foot end with said top and bottom surfacesextending longitudinally the length of said board from said head end tosaid foot end, the peripheral edges of the top and bottom broad surfacesbeing .[.joined.]. .Iadd.connected .Iaddend.together to form aninflatable bag; said board being rolled up from the foot end to the headend in the deflated condition; means for unrolling a portion of saidboard; .[.for placing the unrolled portion of said board adjacent theback of an injured person.]. and means for thereafter inflating the bagto .[.extend and.]. define the rescue board.
 5. The invention as setforth in claim 4 above, wherein said top and bottom broad surfaces andinternal means comprise a pair of woven panels and interconnecting, dropstitches said panels being coated on the outside surfaces thereof withneoprene.
 6. The invention as set forth in claim 4 wherein said rescueboard has at least one transversely oriented reinforcement bar securedto at least one of the broad surfaces thereof providing increasedrigidity of the board in the transverse direction while at the same timepermitting rolling of the deflated board into a compact package.
 7. Theinvention as set forth in claim 4 wherein said board includes atransversely oriented flat spring member secured to at least one of thebroad surfaces thereof in the proximity of the foot end of said boardand a pair of float members secured to the bottom broad surface with oneof said float members located at each end of said spring member wherebythe legs and feet of the injured person will be retained on the boardduring inflation and extension of the board.
 8. The invention as setforth in claim 4 .[.further including.]. .Iadd.wherein said means forunrolling a portion of said rescue board comprises.Iaddend.longitudinally oriented elongated flat spring .[.members.]..Iadd.means .Iaddend.secured to the .[.top broad.]. .Iadd.rescue-board.Iaddend.surface whereby said flat spring .[.members.]. .Iadd.means.Iaddend.exert a force to extend said bag in the deflated condition andthereby assist the rescuer in unrolling the board.
 9. The invention asset forth in claim 4 including handle means positioned at the transverseedge adjacent the head end of said board and a loop member secured tothe bottom broad surface in an area near the middle of said surfaceproviding an opening through which the rescuer may insert his arm andpartially unroll the board and the wrist loop through which the rescuercan insert his hand to grasp the remaining rolled portion of the boardso that the rescuer may place the board on the back of the injuredperson prior to inflation of the inflatable bag.